News / cookery school
Refugee and migrant-led cookery school opens in Bristol
A new cookery school in Bristol is helping refugees and migrants “integrate” into society through their shared love for food.
Migrateful, now open within Windmill Hill City Farm in Bedminster, encourages refugees and migrants to don their chef hats and create traditional dishes that they later share with participants over a joint meal.
The London-based cooking school has been hosting pop-up classes across community kitchens in Bristol for five years, but was pushed to find a permanent location in the city after an increased demand for their classes.
Migrateful has held over 5,000 cooking classes since it was founded in 2017
Founded in 2017, the school has held over 5,000 classes championing people from 48 different nationalities.
The idea for Migrateful originated when founder Jess Thompson was teaching English on a skill exchange program, and students were required to share another skill in return.
“There were participants from all around the world – Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Iran,” said Jess, when speaking to Bristol24/7. “As I went around the room, every single person said they would be really excited to teach their community to cook. ”
Jess continued: “Although they weren’t professional chefs, they were passionate homecooks, and that was a skill that they were proud of.”
“So that was the moment I thought this could become their job because I’m sure there are lots of people in this country who would love to learn their cuisine.
“And it could be a way to help them meet British people and to integrate. ”
Jess said classes at the cooking school help refugees “build their confidence, practice their English and find their first job”.
Jess Thompson, who is originally from Whiteladies Road in Bristol, founded Migrateful in 2017
Jess, who is originally from Whiteladies Road, said: “The Bristol school is gonna be a very exciting new chapter for Migrateful, because we have a lot more space to run classes in.
“We’re gonna be able to train more refugees to teach the classes.
“And we just really hope that it’s a success.”
Migrateful’s classes can be booked here: www.migrateful.org/classes/bristol/
All photos: Narrated Frames
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